Paul Filippelli

I have always strongly believed in standing up for the underdog. For decades, workers have been underpaid, overworked, and mistreated by their employers. Too many corporations see their employees as dispensable and turn a blind eye when they are harassed, discriminated against, or deprived of the overtime pay they earned. Corporations cut corners in health and safety rules, creating a dangerous work environment, and then retaliate against employees who stand up for what is right. Employment law is where we stand up to bad employers and get their workers the justice they deserve.

Keep track of the discrimination as well as you can. Have a notebook (at home, where the employer cannot find it) with dates and notes of exactly what happened. Write down the names of witnesses. Then call an attorney as soon as possible, rather than taking any actions on your own.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Signed by President Biden in 2022, PWFA filled an important gap in pregnant workers’ rights. Before PWFA, employers were only required to give accommodations for pregnancy if they gave a similar accommodation to people for a disability. I have seen a lot of employees who had lifting restrictions or needed to sit down periodically because of their pregnancy, but they were unable to point to other workers who had the same restrictions for a disability. PWFA requires qualifying employers to give reasonable accommodations, including leave for pregnancy-related medical care and childbirth, to all of their pregnant workers, without making the employees point to others with similar accommodations.